Graphic Design: A look at the most striking identities for this year’s student shows

With more fantastically designed invitations flying through our door than we knew what to do with recently, we decided to compile a list of our favourite degree show identities for you all to feast your eyes on. From websites chockablock with GIFs and video clips to beautifully-made catalogues, an invitation which literally jumped out of its envelope and several vacuum-packed collections of oddities (a rubber nipple, anyone?) if the invitations are anything to go by, this year’s degree shows promise a feast of fresh new creative talent for you all to get your chops around.

University of Leeds School of Design: Play

University of Leeds School of Design: Play

University of Leeds School of Design: Play

University of Leeds School of Design: Play

University of Leeds School of Design: Play

Aptly named Play the amazing invitation from Leeds Graphic Design degree show came complete with cutouts of triangles and circles to pop in and out at your leisure, and an equally intriguing website to match. There’s nothing like a puzzle to whet our appetite as to the design treats on display in the show! The public opening will be from June 17 until June 21.www.play.leeds.ac.uk

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

Goldsmiths College Design: This Is War

The Goldsmiths Graphic Design chaps created this lovely identity around the idea of a gold wire which ran the length of the fold-out invitation. It also came vacuum-packed, for extra fun, and, er, waterproofing. Cool!www.thisiswar.org.uk

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston University: Art, Design and Architecture

Kingston’s website design is amaaaaazing – squirting ketchup, extending binoculars, inflating marigold gloves all included – and the joy emanating from their fantastic design has spilled over onto the poste, too. On one side is pictured a normal, average, unexciting yellow glove, and on the other, a super-size inflated one and the semi-translucent paper allows each to show through to the other. It’s a washing-up optical illusion, and we like it. A LOT. The show is open until June 21.www.kingston.ac.uk/degreeshow2013

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

Central Saint Martins

Primary colours are always a winner with us, so this jolly little film by Central Saint Martins went down a treat. Simple and yet oh-so-effective, their tear-it-yourself invitation makes for hours of perforated fun. We can’t wait to see the show – it’s open from June 18 until June 23.www.csm.arts.ac.uk

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne Graphic Design: 26 Characters

Ravensbourne’s charmingly named show 26 Characters has kept the identity slick and the content highly personal, with a detailed look at the students’ work on both the website and in the catalogue. We love how the images flick from silly portraits of the students to sneak peeks of their work as soon as you put the mouse over them. Thumbs-up from us.www.26characte.rs

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Camberwell College of Arts Graphic Design: Most Likely

Would you look at this? A sweetly hilarious film of outtakes, a perfectly grid-like and yet really funny website and a cloudy catalogue to show the student’s work in full. What more could you want? The sheer completeness of the identity for Camberwell would make us love it, that is, if we weren’t already sold on the clouds and the students cheeky smiles. Lovely. The show runs until June 22.www.mostlikely.co.uk

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria University Graphic Design: The Power of Three

Northumbria had us won over the second we ripped open the perforated strip on their envelope and this wee multi-coloured cube popped right out and landed into our laps. “Sheer genius!” we cried. To add to our wonder at their engineering skills, the honeycomb website, reinforcing the focus on branding, publishing and image-making embodied in the “Power of Three” logo, has us hypnotized in some kind of design-trance state. Thanks, Norhumbria. The show runs from June 20 until June 27.www.thepowerofthree.org.uk

University of Reading

University of Reading

University of Reading

University of Reading

University of Reading

University of Reading

Keeping it classic, simple and clean, the University of Reading identity focused on their ink-stamp logo and the clear delivery of their website, with a nicely pu- together catalogue of the students’ work to underpin all the straight lines and nice corners. Neat and tidy! The show runs until June 21.www.degreeshow2013.com

London College of Communication: Graphic Design

London College of Communication: Graphic Design

London College of Communication: Graphic Design

London College of Communication: Graphic Design

London College of Communication’s snazzy website had us scrolling and clicking for at least 20 minutes to discover all the gems hidden beneath those little doors, like a digital advent calendar of graphic design treats. We bet you get sucked in too. Can’t wait to see what the show has in store – it runs until June 28.www.lccdgc.co.uk

Have you got what it takes to be an It’s Nice That Graduate 2013? Find more information here and send your application to us by June 23.

Here we are, round two of our Graduates catch ups in which we get back in touch with our grown-up children from last year and see what powerful things they’ve been up to since we let them fly the nest. Turns out they’ve all been doing exceptionally well, which is nice. Here’s some absolutely fantastic grads Edward Monaghan, Lottie Brzozowski and Ollie Willis sharing their knowledge on how you earn a buck or two in this big bad world these days. h3. Edward Carvalho Monaghan -

Here it is, that time of year again, doesn’t a year swing by quickly now we’re all getting older? After launching our Graduates 2014 we then turn to the Graduates of 2013 to ask what they’ve been doing with their year as professional post-grads. Up first is Alice Tye, Ed Cheverton and Charlie Patterson. Hip hip hooray for them all being very powerful and creative still. Let’s start with Alice…h3. Alice Tye

Stop the inkjet! Halt the squeegees! Tell the cafeteria workers to hold off on the floppy cheese and mayo sandwiches, it’s time to put down your collective art materials and enter your prized work to be part of The It’s Nice That Graduates 2014.

IT’S HERE! After an exceptional run of freshly-graduated talent, our impressive spree of competition winners has come to a natural end. Don’t fret, though – we still have our very last winner to offer up to your eyeballs before the curtain falls.

Mmmmm felt tips: making the plain pages of sketch books colourful since pretty much forever, you can’t help but love a good felt tip! But imagine if you could transform that trusty old pen into something completely new?! Mind boggling stuff right, but that’s exactly what the talented trio of Amsterdam design students – Jaan Evart, Julian Hagen and Daniël Maarleveld – have done with their super-impressive PenJet printer. Taking an old inkjet printer apart and switching the usual ink cartridge for felt tip pens, not only is the concept incredible but it also creates seriously impressive and lovely looking pictures as a result. Cool!

For the last three years, we have selected the most exciting new talent emerging from UK universities and presented them in our annual showcase, The Graduates. We asked a number of these preternaturally gifted lot to create packs for the excellent Granimator™ iPad app, created by ustwo™. We are very pleased to announce that they are great and free and ready to download! The illustrators/designers responsible are Jack Hudson,Sarah Maycock,Tom Edwards and Mike Guppy. Here’s a quick sneak peak at each of their packs…
Granimator is a kit of parts created by artists, designers, studios, illustrators etc. You can manipulate and manoeuvre each element into you own compositions and save, upload and download each wallpaper straight onto your iPad and the Granimator library.